


A Day Off

by Dream_Wreaver



Series: Gabriel Appreciation Week 2018 [5]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Day 5, F/M, Gabriel Appreciation Week, If You Squint - Freeform, Maybe - Freeform, Slight Gabenath, Verbal Sparring, a day off
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-25
Updated: 2018-01-25
Packaged: 2019-03-09 03:36:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13472880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dream_Wreaver/pseuds/Dream_Wreaver
Summary: When the doctor insists, you still have to deal with the most stubborn man in all of Paris





	A Day Off

**Author's Note:**

> Gabriel Appreciation Week Day 5! (Yes I know I'm posting this early but I have stuff to do tomorrow and it's done now so why not share it with you all?) Enjoy!

“No,”

“But-”

“Absolutely not.”

One would think that this was an argument happening between a parent and their petulant child. One would be wrong. One would furthermore be surprised to know that the argument in question was not only not between a parent and child, but between a fully grown man who was responsible for a fashion empire, and his no nonsense assistant. And they weren’t even arguing over something that could be attributed to said man’s artistic quirks. No, right now he was just being stubborn.

“Sir, you need-”

“Nathalie for the last time the answer is no.”

“Sir,” her tone was sharp, but more in a sense that it was the tone she knew was needed to get him to listen. It was also false bravado, he could feel the apprehension she tried to stifle, “The doctor has already stated your stress level is too high. You need to take a day off.”

“I refuse,” he crossed his arms.

“Well I suppose that is just too bad,” Nathalie frowned, “Because I am under strict orders to keep your stress as minimized as possible. And since I am the one taking care of much of the company functions  _ as it is _ I suggest you listen to me before you  _ really _ have a reason to stress out.”

“And tell me why I should listen to you instead of firing you for your brashness?”

Nathalie didn’t come into work the next day.

“Ready to listen now?” Nathalie asked the day after that. She stood utterly calm and composed. Gabriel looked like an utter mess.

“Are you certain I pay you enough?” He asked her in response, “Because if not I think you won’t be able to ask for a raise anytime soon.”

Nathalie rolled her eyes, “Thank goodness I took care of the really important clients then. All the ones you managed to anger into leaving can be replaced.”

“Did you honestly do that to prove a point?”

“I would have thought the answer more than obvious sir,” Nathalie replied, “However I knew I couldn’t let the company go under completely. Thank goodness my job is primarily digital.”

“You worked from home then?”

“A little,” she agreed, “Now, do you think you might be ready to listen and do as I say?”

“Will you walk out again if I say no?”

“Whatever it takes to prove my point sir,”

“Very well, I'll take a day off.” It was said begrudgingly and more than obvious he didn’t want to, but he really couldn’t fight her on this or she’d force his hand again. Next time something like this came up he would have to take more precaution not to let her have all the control.

“The doctor recommends you take more than one day, but I suppose we can take it one day at a time.” She held out her hand expectantly.

He glanced at it, then at her, then back again. Repeat. “What?”

“Miraculous,” she said without preamble.

“Pardon?” Anyone else would have gotten fired over such audacity, but Nathalie had already proven she was the only person capable of keeping the company afloat, and she’d already proven she was willing to walk out if it helped her get her way.

“Give me. Your. Miraculous.” she enunciated each word carefully, as though speaking to a small child. Which in her mind she really was, but she couldn’t say that to his face, of course.

“Absolutely not!”

“I will take it from you otherwise sir,” Nathalie replied, “I know for a fact that if I give you the day off and let you keep it you won't be doing any relaxing at all. And to be quite honest I have enough on my plate without adding a day of multiple akuma attacks to it. Give me the brooch.”

“Why you-”

“Brooch, sir.  _ Now _ .” Her tone booked no room for argument, no room for options contrary. A smart person would have seen the logic behind her machinations and given in. A smart person would have, but while he was smart, Gabriel Agreste was also ten times more stubborn.

“No,”

Nathalie breathed in and let out a long breath through her nose. Her eyes closed briefly, as though steeling her nerves for what she was supposed to do next.

“Very well,” Nathalie set her tablet down and dusted off her hands. She then approached him. Instantly Gabriel backed away.

“Nathalie I said no!”

“I understand that sir, however you must understand that I am under strict orders to look after your health, as it is more than evident  _ you _ won’t.” She took a step closer, he took one back, “Now sir, stop acting like a child and give me the brooch.”

“Absolutely not.”

He should have known from the previous day’s events that Nathalie wouldn't be intimidated by an order like that. She was too competent an employee for her own good. And right now she prioritized his health over his ambition. She managed to get ahold of the brooch without too much difficulty and she refused to let it go.

“Nathalie this is ridiculous, give me back the brooch.”

“No, sir,” Nathalie affirmed, “You can have it back once your blood pressure lowers. But not a moment before.”

“I am a grown man, I do not need to be mollycoddled.”

His assistant raised an unimpressed brow, “Clearly,” she retorted, “Find something else to occupy your mind with for the next twenty four hours.” Though she turned to walk away she stopped and looked back at him, “And by that I don't mean spend it staring at another picture of the madam. That will only make it worse.”

And that was how Gabriel found himself trying to pass the time by staring at the clock. He tried to design, he tried to think of if he had any friends he could spend time with (he quickly remembered he didn't because he hated spending time with people), and when all of that failed to keep his attention he attempted to log in and do some work he found that Nathalie had changed his password.

“Nathalie!” He called for her.

“What sir?”

“Why is my password not working?”

“Why do you think?” Nathalie retorted as she walked in the room,“Working will not help lower your stress. Find something else to do.”

“Very well, where's Adrien?”

“At school, after which he has fencing practice and then he will do homework. You're not going to disrupt it.”

He was outwardly calm but on the inside he was going insane. But Nathalie, ever so observant, saw right through it.

“Sir, have you really isolated yourself to the point of not knowing how to keep yourself occupied without it having to do with your company or your obsession with magical jewelry?”

He was silent. Ever present scowl in place. And he glared, not at her, but right through her.

“Sir, do you not have anything you like to do?”

“What are your hobbies?” He asked in response.

Nathalie blinked, “Me, sir? I don't really have time for hobbies, I'm too busy trying to keep your worlds from colliding and imploding in each other.”

“You don't have a way to relax?”

Her cheeks pinked as though an involuntary thought had sprung to her mind. Shaking her head she coughed, “On the rare occasions I have some free time a full glass of wine and a good book are a nice way to unwind,” she suggested.

“I would say it’s far too early for a glass of wine.”

“I would say that we live in France, a country world renown for its wine, and that you are in the privacy of your own home, so who cares that you take a glass before evening?”

“Any books you might recommend to me?”

Again that momentary flush, “No sir, I doubt our literary tastes are compatible. Why not read a classic? Leroux perhaps, or maybe Hugo.”

“How boring.”

“There’s nothing wrong with the classics sir,”

“You say that now, but if you’re hoping I’ll unwittingly bore myself to sleep reading  _ Notre Dame de Paris _ you have lost your edge Nathalie.”

“Then why not  _ Les Miserables _ sir? You seem to enjoy the suffering of others, and that book is nothing  _ but _ strife.”

“I think I’ll pass, is there anything else you find relaxing?”

“Perhaps,” Nathalie set her tablet down and leaned over his desk, “You might find physical exertion the best way to keep you from snapping.”

“What are you insinuating Miss Sancoeur?” Gabriel narrowed his eyes. Nathalie wasn’t so brazen, nor was she so lowly that she would seduce her own boss. Not that she couldn’t -even from an objective standpoint Gabriel could admit that- but she held her own regard too high to stoop so low as that.

As though sensing his train of thought Nathalie smiled in an almost sultry manner and elaborated, “Go workout, get a massage, do something that will exhaust you physically and the mental fatigue will follow after. You’ll fall asleep, and the day will be over before you know it.”

“And what, might I ask, would you recommend I do to workout?”

“There’s a lot you can do,” Nathalie returned to normal as she straightened and grabbed her tablet, “Boxing, fencing, some men your age like to play basketball, there’s-”

“Excuse me?” Gabriel blinked incredulously, “Men my age?”

“You can’t deny that you’re no spring chicken anymore sir,” Nathalie remarked without malice, which somehow made it more malicious with its blunt, straightforward, and utterly well-intentioned tone, “And you and I both know I am the younger of us.”

“Yet you don’t act your age,” Gabriel quipped.

“You would rather I come in parading around in short skirts and low-collared tops?” Nathalie raised a brow at him.

“The idea has its merits,” Gabriel allowed for a split moment, “Or it would, were I anyone else.”

“Ah yes, the famed villain of Paris is actually a gentleman,  _ who _ would have ever thought?” Nathalie rolled her eyes to emphasize her sarcasm, “If you’re that desperate for companionship I can call you an escort.”

Instantly she had him, “A day off is one thing,” Gabriel remarked icily, “But I will be damned before I cheat on my wife or pay for s-”

“That is  _ not _ what they are there for,” Nathalie cut him off before he could finish, “Though I’m sure there are very few who would refuse given the opportunity. No, an escort is simply to keep you company, though some allow more liberties, usually for more money. And plenty of them deal with high profile clients all the time. You joining their roster wouldn’t even make the gossip rags I assure you sir.”

“You sound like you’re speaking from experience,” Gabriel shot.

With perfect composure Nathalie parried, “Forget how we met, sir?”

They had met at a party, her on the arm of a business competitor at the time. Gabriel had snatched her because she had a good head on her shoulders, he never would have believed that-

“You were an escort?”

“In a manner of speaking,” Nathalie inclined her head, “Was I a part of an agency? No. Was I paid to spend the evening of the party with the gentleman? Yes. But then, you know what happened next, don’t you?”

“I never would have believed you-”

“I was young and it was easy money,” Nathalie retorted, “Logically it was a sound decision, even more so, since it was the reason I’m here now. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Gabriel sat in his chair, utterly stunned. He never would have thought his most competent, capable employee would have acted as an escort, even for a single night. She had too much self-respect, or so he had thought. No, no she did. She had to be playing another trick on him. He wondered, letting his empathetic powers flare (albeit weaker without the miraculous to act as a focusing conduit) he searched her out for any sort of deception. And then he remembered she was a spot of calm in the calamity of emotion that plagued the city. Which was normally welcomed, but it also meant he couldn’t get a good read on her.

“I think you’re lying.” he told her.

“I don’t think it matters whether I’m lying or not,” Nathalie said, adjusting something with a few quick swipes and taps. At this point she’d given up trying to convince him to take a day off and resigned herself to babysitting while dealing with the company. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d done something like this, it likely wouldn’t be the last.

“You’re definitely lying,”

“And what would make you think I am?”

“You have too much self-respect to be in the hospitality industry, especially in a position where people would be constantly touching you,” Nathalie really didn’t like being touched, he’d noticed. Not that she would jolt away, but she would step out of range or slip out of a hold in a manner that spoke volumes more than her own words could.

“I have my self-respect, and those women do too. I don’t see how them having a slightly different career path yet still making almost as much as I do now means they have less self-respect. If that is where their skills lie, then by all means it makes sense for them to do what comes naturally and I don’t see why this bothers you so much.”

He didn’t know why either. But just the thought of her doing such a (societally considered) sleazy thing niggled. It was like imagining his wife being an escort- no wait, bad comparison. Maybe like his little sister? A cousin? Relative, that worked. It was like learning a relative you were fairly close to had worked as an escort. It felt, almost like a betrayal. At least, that was the name he gave the vitriol flowing through his veins. Instead of continuing the argument, he merely huffed.

“Honestly sir, you can be such a child,” Nathalie shook her head, perhaps it wasn’t the  _ best _ or most appropriate thing to call her employer, but it was accurate at the moment and, if she had to be stuck in this mess she might as well try and do some good with it, “Is there something you want to ask for? Because I don’t see why the thought of taking a day off should bother you so much.”

“Ah yes, a single man with a missing spouse taking a day off in his big empty mansion,” Gabriel retorted, “Absolutely nothing wrong with that, is there?”

And then she saw it. Gabriel worked himself to the bone because he had nothing else to work for. He’d isolated his son to that point, but didn’t seem to be aware that he still had the chance to rectify it. He no longer had his wife. He had the company, and his quest for the miraculous. And that was it. Gabriel Agreste didn’t do friendship, not in any normal sense of the word. He was lonely, and thus had no concept of what to do when he was alone with his thoughts. He had turned to seeking out the miraculous specifically to  _ escape _ his thoughts, until new ones surrounding his aims overtook them. Sighing Nathalie checked over what she had left on her to-do list. Most of it was for things whose deadlines were weeks, if not months, in advance. And she’d continued to work from home yesterday, more than she had let on as she went behind cleaning up the mess that Gabriel had made. Perhaps a day off for the both of them wasn’t unwarranted?

Nathalie set down her tablet, “Alright, what do you want to do?” 

Gabriel seemed stunned, “You want to spend the day with me? Without work?”

“Since it seems that that is the only way you’ll actually take a day off and  _ not _ terrorize the city? Yes, I will spend the day with you. What do you want to do?”

Funny how when posed with this question the man who always had an answer was suddenly speechless. But then, it didn’t really surprise Nathalie. He hadn’t known how to spend his day off when he was going to stay inside his mansion, why would company and the prospect of going outside change this any? Well, what was something that they could do which wouldn’t involve too much vulnerability and heart-to-hearting but still allow him to enjoy the lack of isolation?

“Let’s watch a movie,” Nathalie suggested.

“Is there a particular one you want to watch?” Gabriel parried.

“Do you have any ideas?” Nathalie shot back.

“Very well, I leave the choice up to you.”

She considered picking a romcom, simply to spite him. But even she wasn’t that heartless. So she picked something a little more tragic, but a lot more entertaining. Lord Webber’s Live (it had been at the time it had been recorded) version of his greatest work and a matter of French pride,  _ The Phantom of the Opera _ . It was exceedingly long, even cutting out all the accolades at the end, and the music would carry the plot without need for explanation. Most of all, between it and the unhealthy amount of popcorn, it would keep her employer  _ silent _ .

When it was all over, and Nathalie had discreetly wiped away the few tears the ending always managed to wrench from her, Gabriel was still silent.

“Was it not to your liking?” she asked as she uncurled her legs and set her feet on the floor.

“I- understand why people like it,” it had been a little unconventional, since the movie had been in english. But since their jobs required skill with the language Nathalie hadn’t thought it that bad. Most of the action and emotion was carried by the music anyways.

“But not something you would normally watch?” Nathalie asked.

“I’m not some brainless snot who only enjoys mindless action movies,” Gabriel said derisively, “Merely though, I do not understand why he let her go. Or why anyone could be satisfied with that much buildup.”

How poignant, and telling, that he identified with the phantom. Was he horribly disfigured? Not on the outside, no. But he did pretend to be something he was not, all for the sake of the woman he loved. And he was willing to do anything to get her. Nathalie didn’t point it out though, he’d clam up and it would be the opposite of relaxing, which had been the whole point.

“Choose something different next time,” Gabriel asserted as he stood up and stretched.

“Next time, sir?” Nathalie couldn’t believe it. Just a few hours earlier he’d only begrudgingly agreed to one.

“Yes, and see to it there’s time on our schedules every week for this.” Gabriel added, “If you’re going to force me to relax it may as well be with something that doesn’t have too much thinking involved.”

Progress, however small, was still progress. Nathalie nodded, “Of course sir, right away sir.”

**Author's Note:**

> Did you like it? Let me know and leave a comment. Until next time


End file.
